Things We Do For Others
by Knight Watcher
Summary: A series of one shots inspired by a song titled "How To Save A Life" and of course by the moments in various episodes.
1. Save A Life

It happen before, he could not let it happen again, as much as he would joke that keeping him alive is what matters most to prevent that from occurring this time, he realizes it is not just him. They are easily beaten though it is just a diversion. The others converge on the energy sphere surrounding the being that would destroy their world though not before destroying them starting with the one that beaten them both repeatedly. He is thrown back first by the beams and others follow suit though it takes the longest to hit him. Then gazing skyward he barely notices her tossing the Javelin with ease destroying the mechanism that surrounds the being yet she too falls to the ground near the unconscious others.

He is barely able to pull himself up as the being, as the transfiguration of Brainiac-Luthor advances on him. Two more crude duplicants emerge on a summon to hold him in place as the half-machine, half-man forms a shotgun between his hands aiming directly at him, at Flash. The two stare at each other for a moment. The mechanical variation of Luthor's voice is unnerving though it now up to him to stop this. He vibrates the soldier duplicants into nothingness before standing up just as the shotgun dissolves.

The voice taunts him then he turns to run, run faster than he ever run in his life because he has none of the others' abilities so speed is his only option, maybe his final option. He runs and runs and runs until he is only a red blur in the air slamming repeatedly into the dark yellow armor thus tearing away pieces at time until Brainiac-Luthor is on the ground and the air vibrating with a charge around him, around Flash.

His hands phase through what is left of the armor as he vibrates away the cybernetic layers covering Luthor's skin. His mechanical cries are deafened by the explosion as the others barely getting to their feet witness all this at a distance. The blue vapors dissipate as a naked Luthor lies with an agitated in a ditch in the ruined roadway and a visibly weakened Flash stumbles away as the other six draw closer to him. The distortion charge around him reveals his slowing fadeout just as he seems to utter his last words.

"I feel kind of funny…"

Superman calls his name, Diana gasps, Bruce's jaw hangs in the air, J'onn's forehead wrinkles, John's eyes widen, Shayera's brows twitch, and all Luthor does is laugh believing he is right. Time slows to a crawl as Superman advances on a smug Luthor, as Wonder Woman seeks to stop a repeat, as Bruce acknowledges that Kent must make his own call, as Shayera's eyes moisten, as John barely manages to contain his frustration. The next few minutes are a blur as Superman drops Luthor, as J'onn tells Flash still lives, as Shayera reaches out to him, as the six join arms to pull him through the vortex. Flash or rather Wally falls into Shayera's arms as John kneels next to them.

"I can never go that fast again, if I do, I don't think I am ever coming back…"

Shayera nuzzles against Wally's mask, John rests a hand on his crazy friend's shoulder, Superman smiles, Diana sighs, J'onn is relieved, and for once Bruce inwardly admits that Wally just saved all their lives. Bruce would remember that when Orion misunderstands Flash.

"We stopped the bad guys and nobody got hurt. You know what I call that, a really good day."


	2. Atonement

She pulls it from the pocket dimension as she recalls the time she first met the magician that had given her sanctuary these past several months. The team went on and the roster had grown longer since she left. She did not wish to know the vote though of course she could guess who might have voted for or against her staying likewise the news if she ever heard any about her is usually negative. Her last chess game with Aquaman had only proven her self-loathing as he utters that she disgusts him, which she only answers with join the club then leaves him alone with AMAZO.

Her brief conversation with Inza had been one of many things that made her decide it is time to face the lights especially as the League is engaging a resurrected Solomon Grundy. He might have been an infrequent opponent yet he had also been in search of peace and his soul. As she fights him on the city streets she recalls how he fought against the otherworldly enemies and she could only admire his battle resilience. Once free of her restraints she attempts to catch up to him except by then he is fatally stung and it is relatively the same area where she strikes him during the present fight to stop him.

She hesitates yet again lands a blow crashing him through the pavement into the sewers below. It is a sad scene though she resolves to follow through as Fate like Inza reminds her that when she does her job what matters is she there where or when there is a need for her to be there. As she wanders through the sewers using the mace's electric charge as a light source she eventually draws closer to a wounded Grundy just as she had come across him after the sting. The two scenes coalesce in her eyes as in one frame she soothes Grundy in the belief that he will have his soul back and in the other, only her mace seems able to end his suffering.

She leaves the body for Fate to look after as she struggles to remember the Solomon Grundy that saved her life instead of this drawn out fight to bring an enraged being to a second death. She flies out of the hole in the street then softly lands before those awaiting her return. The press like the crowd has a mixed reaction though she keeps walking until the little girl from earlier pulls at her arm and the girl's mother thanks her for saving their lives. She weakly smiles and hears John Stewart's voice behind her.

"You deserved that too…"

The sun is coming, a new dawn perhaps as they all walk towards it, and so she remembers the funeral they held for Solomon. She remembers Aquaman's parting comment then about faith, which she might have finally understood now, in the sense that one never understands, they can only believe that they have a purpose, that there is meaning. Atonement is not easily found much like faith, it brings with it all the things that we must make peace with eventually, to live or die for what one believes all the risks are taken for in life.


	3. Lost and Found

It felt urgent to find Luthor though of course knowing Superman, it is even greater, and he knows there is history between them. His eyes glow as he hovers above the city stretching out with his mind then it happens, all the voices at once, anxieties, baseness, fears, and more their inner thoughts. All they nearly never say to each other so as his head throbs from the overload he flies higher and further until he is in the woods yet even there he is not alone in his head. His comlink goes off to the sound of Superman's call and he demands to be left alone then rips it from his neck before stomping on it.

His appearance reverts to its true state. He wanders the woods until he can walk no further yet then he notices the approach of a wolf and all that is on the creature's mind is the next meal. The wolf is also curious about him so remains near him until voices are heard from just beyond the trees. The wolf hurries off as J'onn goes behind the rocks. He can hear them calling out a name, a little girl is missing, and with each passing hour the search grows more desperate to find her. As he follows them cautiously, he hears one man calling out for her yet even though he is cold, he worries more for her, hopes that she can be found.

J'onn presses one hand against his forehead in disbelief and sadness perhaps he admits there is more to these people than I thought of course the Invaders' terraforming of this world had shown him something of Earth. It might have been too much to expect them to be too like his family in the League. He recalls that he too would worry about his own family on Mars before the devastation of the Invaders and what they did to his civilization, but these people they had just as much potential if only for more like that man who worries for the little girl. He transfigures back to his more humanoid looking appearance as he probes the minds in the woods for the girl.

As he lands again, she is there in only her pajamas clutching a stuffed animal and he tells her, he will take her to the searchers. He catches up with them in a clearing and hands her off to the man leading the search. The others crowd around him in amazement and gratitude for returning her to them. He inwardly feels better though he feels just as awkward from the attention of a deceptively simple act so he descends phasing through the ground then reemerges a short distance away where Wonder Woman, where Diana finds him.

She had seen him bring the girl to them and she smiles at him that what just happen had given something to keep going on for though of course she reminds there is still more to do back in the city as the others fought the android AMAZO. He would take this lesson to heart that sometimes you have be lost, to find what you were looking for, and now this AMAZO would learn a lesson of his own when finally meeting J'onn as he copies the Martian's abilities. In the process learning that Luthor used him and then J'onn would tell them to let AMAZO handle Luthor alone.

Afterwards a news report airs at the end of the night about a little girl that was found in the woods by a strange figure later identified by pictures as a member of the Justice League. Superman apologizes profusely to J'onn for the psychic feedback from the sweep, but J'onn is quite forgiving as they see the news story about the girl. The two aliens had much to talk about of course that could wait because tonight J'onn learns that humanity while flawed, still has enough to balance them out. All it took was a lost girl to change his mind and save his life.


	4. Only Human

Their lives play out in a world not their own. His from the dying gasps let loose from two bullets and hers in the pools of saliva streaming down their faces. All the rooftop nights and cellblock days run together. He believes the decision is his the night he finally pulls down the mask then turns walking off into the darkness of the cave. She wanders away from the scene down a black and white tile floor not to be seen again or so he believes until another night years later. In some ways she is still just a girl clutching her only doll and he that boy in the alleyway choking on tears.

He walks through the forest of distortions towards a dark castle in the middle of a colorful landscape. He would never use weapons especially not the kind that took their lives or stole hers. She is a weapon or this is what they were going to use her for, to defend against what they were afraid of with that floating tower in the sky and an army of costumes within it. The two sides came to blows yet it did not make from it the world of the other place. There are no illusions just how close they almost made a repeat of history.

He is told she is dying and that ending her life sooner rather than later would save countless lives so he takes their device to assuage their concern. She only allows him to pass so his walk turns into a sprint then once inside it is a further distortion except for the swing set that she is swings from not far from him. Their words are few yet this is what they are like, very to the point, each with their own intensity waiting to burst, waiting for a release, waiting for something or someone to tell them it is over, that something better is on the other side.

"I read your mind that's how I knew you wouldn't use Mrs. Waller's weapon."

"No."

He pulls it from the slot then tosses it aside. He had seen her do plenty of mind bending things especially tonight yet this is again about her having some semblance of a life. He did not endure what she did yet he could grasp why she did these things and that somehow made her more courageous than him. She made him feelings he had not felt in awhile, guilt for denying himself a life even as he fought against the criminality that grips Gotham. He thought of all the women he had ever been with though so meaningful at times as the ones that left him instead of him leaving them.

"I'm dying… really soon."

"I'm… sorry."

"I'm scared… would you stay with me."

Tears flow from her dark eyes even as he sat in the swing next to hers. His gloved hand outstretches to her uncovered hand. As long as it took, he would stay, he owes her that much, because no one else had seen those deaths through his eyes except him, and she would show him what happen to hers. Then she would change it all back before she dies and as her last breath left her, he carries her off in his arms towards the others waiting for his return from her wonderland. He only hopes that being there made a difference most of all for her, for Ace. Their representative, Waller, could read his demeanor through the cowl.

"He sat with her until her time came…"


	5. Hearts

She saw him chase after a runaway bus barely being driven by a man succumbing to the gender specific plague unleashed by Aresia. She recalls Hawkgirl's contrary opinions about what Aresia is doing and about men. A fallen tower is within her grip after it takes a sideswipe from the bus. Batman had gone through its back window then dashes to the front to swerve the vehicle away from the fire engines still working to contain a blaze nearby. He gets the vehicle to turn though it tips over before coming to a dead stop.

Diana sees him burst through the dashboard window with the unconscious and diseased bus driver over his shoulder. As she nears him, his body falls into her arms, he has got the disease as well. She remembers how he had tried to get to her from under the warhead that she brought down in Gorilla City though of course she is unharmed yet the condition of his gloves had gotten her attention. His flush embarrassment from her cheek kiss alerts her to his more than passing interest in her. His willingness to help her against Faust felt more confusing than the expected assistance from Superman, J'onn, and she could grasp why Flash would come along too.

He kept risking his life again and again, but why, what drove him, she would not know at least some of it for a long while. Batman as she feels out is a private yet determined individual whereas one might compare Superman to Hercules or Flash to Hermes, Batman belongs to a different pantheon. This of course if one goes by mythology or abilities, but she had seen another side of Batman tonight. Aresia had more than a rough childhood and they had grown up together in Thermiscyria except Diana is Amazon by birth whereas Aresia is an orphan from Man's World.

As she later hears her mother's story about the day that Aresia washed up on the island all she could think in recent experience is Batman. The Captain like Batman risks his life for an apparent stranger though so far Batman had not lost his life. The Captain made his final sacrifice to get her to the nearest shore as she had almost drowned if not for him diving after her. Some would wonder why she had not told this story sooner though naturally there is not a high opinion of men among Amazonians nor does one man's act redeem mankind to Aresia.

"You can't change what happen to her or what she chose to do," says Hippolyta.

"I know Mother, but I feel responsible for not finding a way to help her," replies Diana.

"She made her decision, but you did the same and saved Man's world again."

"It doesn't make it any easier."

"No it never does, so tell me about this Batman.

Her mother listens with such attention that maybe she had known a Batman in her time or heard stories of men like him from other Amazons before they went to the island. He is like many with a tragic past who are in pursuit of a world where such things cannot happen again, but he is also in search of a life that he denies himself because he feels undeserving of such a life. Hippolyta leaves her daughter with parting advice that to be cautious of Batman though remember to also abide by her own decisions especially in matters of the heart because it too saves lives as it did with the Captain and as it does with Batman.


	6. Patriots

He finds this whole parade to be a symbolic waste and almost pines for the old battles he used to fight though of course the cowboy makes the most of it. The two of them at least from appearances could seem about as different as the more iconic heroes of this time except it made them no less important at least to Green Arrow. Superman is kept busy light years away and the five of them are filling his spot in the annual parade in Metropolis. Vigilante's show theatrics finally warms up the crowd that is until a mutant that used to be General Eiling shows up demanding that Superman show his face.

As the five brawl against him with the cops' help, it seems hopeless because he physically outmatches them. S.T.R.I.P.E. can barely hold against Eiling even with the armor and the boosters so as he crashes into a partially demolished building there seems little left for him. Eiling begins tearing his armor apart by then though the slam from the ball redirects his attention to the crane, which he severs from its platform. As it falls S.T.R.I.P.E. back on his feet shouts for Eiling to not do this. As the crane begins to topple, the kid starts to slide out of the cab though Vigilante soars through the air on his bike catching the kid in the nick of time before sending him back to crowd control.

S.T.R.I.P.E. is thrown clear down the street before Stargirl hooks an energy bind around an increasingly enraged Eiling. The cowboy swings the motorcycle around driving straight at the overgrown paranoid that the darling Stargirl is blasting at with her staff. He warns her off just before he slide jumps off the motorcycle firing at the gas tank as he goes so one hears both the boom and a whoop holler from Vigilante. The explosion however does nothing except aggravate him more.

Stargirl takes him skyward and he goes on a rant about superpower types like her except she again reminds him it is only the staff though he uses the opening to send her slamming into the asphalt pavement below. He descends through the air towards her except as he pulls her up in on flying horseback is Shining Knight. His words while ones from a bygone era are still true and the two would fight even when Knight is physically not a match. Arrow and Vigilante fail to double team Eiling and so even with backup it seems hopeless.

Arrow and Speedy use quantum arrows, no luck, and of course Eiling throws both into cars after head slamming them into the broken road. Eiling's howls are met only by Knight's declarations that Superman is elsewhere saving lives. He likewise tells the brute that he will not allow him to harm another then tells a tale to respond Eiling's patriotic claims for this brutality. Knight could not do as Arthur commands though of course it was only a test perhaps though Eiling calls him a lousy soldier before smacking him across the face. The stench is not merely fumes or sweat, but decay, the misconceptions about patriotism. Eiling pummels him while insisting that he surrender before a hospital stay becomes necessary.

Justin will not give up; it is not in his character, death in this moment because it would mean dying for what is right, doing what he feels is right. As the self-righteous Eiling holds a sedan over a crowd gathering around Justin, there is only a small meek older woman staring Eiling down. She questions how many would he kill to 'make us safe' and his response typical to blame metahumans except he is one now. Their beliefs are not the same so Eiling leaves convinced he is right maybe he is, but than so is she though Justin still has something to say to her.

"Hold... I have yet to thank you."

"No need to thank me, son. You just get better. World still needs protecting, you know."

Today she is the hero just as much as he is, maybe even more, because today she stood her ground and is content to go thankless even as this man from a bygone era of chivalry seeks to thank her. As the ambulances cart the wounded heroes away she remembers another man from decades ago who took to the streets in the name of a world and a time where a people could become proud of their accomplishments. This man did not live to see the world as it is today yet she had a feeling that he would find common ground with the band that took to the streets as he did in the name of doing what they must while reminding others like her that it is their fight too.

A hero is not one thing, but many things. A patriot is likewise an amalgam of qualities though one knows one especially today on these streets where this old lady stood up for her people.


	7. Pretty Bird

She rouses with a start of course he did fool her like she had done to him during the sparring match. He taunt fights her mentor as she races out of the room where he left her unconscious moments before. Roulette's black suits hold her back as she yells at him for what he just did back in the room and for what he is doing in there fighting Wildcat. She inwardly feels afraid for him and guilty for getting him drawn into this. She had seen the way he was looking at her that night after his first League mission.

Her legs were among her most eye catching features though he obvious had some attraction to her that went beyond that noticing her well kept physique. Wildcat keeps whaling on him and until finally he appears to have been beaten to death by him. The old fighter feels revulsion for what he had done yet accepts his former student's outrage because while he did feel underused among other things by the League, he did not have to kill someone to prove it. She slumps to the floor with tears beginning to well in her eyes.

He hear her words blurring together something about stupid and sweet then the pressure of her lips against his skin as he starts to come around. She slightly gasps with still wet eyes, she is angry and happy at the same time, but now it is time to leave this place behind. Later over coffee, they admit to mutual flirtation despite him not believing in her genuine interest in him. She looks so beautiful, in or out of costume; she snickers at him calling her Pretty Bird. She would for now call him Ollie instead of Arrow.

"Next time you are paying for wherever we go," jokes Dinah.

"Only fair, just remember, the floor is always open too," chuckles Oliver.

"You sure you want that dance again?" questions Dinah.

"Maybe I'll really pin you next time" answers Oliver.

"We'll see about that one Ollie."

She drops the pay for the coffee leaving him to watch her walk off with her legs in his line of sight. She could fight he had already seen that much and just maybe she would be saving his life one of these nights. However until then just being with her from time to time would be more than enough, plenty to live for, even more surprising when she would slug Mandragora for mocking her taste in men. It got them kicked outside just before Helena and Vic show up looking for the fat man himself.

They do manage to steal a kiss before taking down the unexpected arrival of Helena and Vic. He catches Dinah grabbing Helena's leg the same he had caught her leg in the sparring match, which made him laugh inwardly before sidestepping Vic's attack. The pair is easily dealt with yet somehow during all the fight Mandragora got away with help from some henchmen. This leads them squaring off verbally as Vic misleads them except past experience taught Oliver to expect deception with Vic.

"You are not supposed to drive when you're angry!"

She follows Vic's Pontiac into the train tunnel and when they are speeding towards a train that is speeding towards them. Oliver calls for a transport, which takes them, but not the bike to the waterfront. Its destruction upsets her naturally, but he'll pay her back for it somehow.


	8. Eyes Only

Her father hides her in the closet just before the expected visitors burst through the doors. She watches as the heavy set man, the fat man closes in on her parents. The blows are unavoidable and soon they are leaving him in charge of the gang. Tears stream from the little girl's eyes just as an older woman tries to rub one from hers as this quirky yet mysterious man keeps on driving. The warm moment is cut off by the sound of another woman's voice chirping through the man's earpiece comlink. She pinches it out of his ear and yells at the other woman. The Pontiac GTO leaps a vehicle trailer onto train tracks as their pursuers give chase.

"Train!" she shouts.

"I know!" he responds.

"TRAIN!" she repeats.

"I KNOW!" he replies.

The car just barely dodges it, but the chasers on the bike are not so lucky if not for the Watchtower's teleporters. Her target Mandragora is not skipping town, he is meeting a freighter according to her driver of a 'date' as they head towards the pier where Mandragora is driving towards. The other woman, Black Canary, ambushes Mandragora's thugs, but of course is no match for the big man himself. He tosses her, Arrow, and Question fairs little better then takes Canary by the hair before Helena, before Huntress demands that he let her go. As she aims her loaded crossbow at her parents' killer, a little boy's voice calling Papa takes form as their killer turns to kneel just to hug his son.

The boy notices her aiming and Mandragora pushes the boy behind him. His face visibly twitches before Question, before Vic asks her if this what she wants, for a brief moment she had seen herself in the kid's place, then fires dropping a crane load on Mandragora only knocking him out, not killing him. After her childhood enemy is taken away and his son taken in by Social Services, she approaches Question again trying to figure out why if he had known more than she did all along, did he still help her this far. His earlier reply to the question was that is the question except now he admits he likes her in the way a boy shyly acknowledges a crush on a girl.

She kisses him, mask and all, which B.C. can only react to with some disgust, but later she'll realize perhaps costume hero relationships are always atypical if that's the word for it. Moments like these will be her motivation to get him back when he is caught trying to handle Luthor alone, not knowing that his target is already physically beyond him thanks to Brainiac's physical enhancements. She'll have to bring in Superman because she knows she cannot get to Vic on her own in Cadmus.

She leaves the heavy lifting to the Man of Steel who of course gets a handful with Captain Atom. She naturally does not take Vic's ravaged appearance well so she slugs the interrogator square in the face. She shoulders Vic's weight as they make their getaway though of course Atom and Cadmus soldiers attempt to block their way.

"You shouldn't have come for me."

"You shouldn't have snuck away without me."

The conversation would have to wait as she takes on a whole Cadmus squad alone though of course she had learnt to fight well even though she had been taken down by Dinah 'B.C.' Lance once. The whole unit is down before most can fire at her yet she does not have to handle the door as Superman takes Atom through the wall. He mumbles that he can't make it though of course she insists he can yet J'onn is reluctant to take her call until she tells him what is happening down there.

Back aboard the Watchtower, Atom and Question are in separate recovery rooms. She peels back the mask after using the aerosol on him. He tells her she was right about being the ugliest man of all time except she'll say not in my eyes then darkens the window leaving Kara to wonder until going over to Superman. It is relatively straightforward before Superman goes to see Question. The chat mirrors an earlier discussion between the two though of course this time it is more about what is he going to do now.

"I can shut down Cadmus without killing Luthor…"

"Carry on then. If you're wrong, it's not like… it's the end of the world of right?"

The argument goes in circles until the alert for the binary fusion gun goes and J'onn's attempt to disable it fails as the system reroutes then prepares to fire and Superman's attempt to block the shot likewise is too late. The beam streaks through the atmosphere obliterating its target, Cadmus. It is empty still the fact that the weapon exists, that someone could hijack, lately a lot felt wrong, but naturally there are rationalizations on both sides why they behave this way. It happen before, would it happen again, are all realities self-correcting, or are we shown what could go wrong, if everything went wrong, so we might find another way?

_That is the question._


	9. Memories

"You remember that night?"

"Always Master Bruce, just as you do."

"It is one thing to comfort a child who lost parents."

"It is another to comfort a child who is dying in front of you."

"Rare for me to be at loss for words, but then I remember telling you about her."

"Powerful mind, lonely spirit, you had more than that in common."

"She like me, like Dick, like Tim, lost biological family."

"Except like you, Masters Dick and Tim, she had no one else until she met you."

"I thought I could have done more for her if I had known about her physical condition."

"I need not remind you of any number of nights past where you felt so responsible for all the lives that were risked besides your own, but remember the most important thing that your father as a doctor had to deal with as well. Sometimes no matter what we do people will die yet at least we can be there for them when they do because nobody wants to die alone."

"Thank you Alfred, sometimes I do not know what I would do without you."

"This house would be such a mess, but even if it ever got that I'm sure they would understand."

The portrait of Thomas and Martha is the usual spot to find Alfred at the end of his cleaning rounds for the evening. It is also where one tends to find Bruce if he is not in the cave below, out on patrol, or doing any number of other things. The doorbell rings and so Alfred head off to answer it. A dressed down Diana arrives with a late dinner takeout, art supplies, and an easel. He gives her the perplexed raised eye brow look, which she only manages to slightly smile at before explaining why she is here.

"I thought you might want to make a painting of her."

"I'm no Picasso, Princess."

"Just paint from memory if you want."

They eat first before returning to the room where his parents' portrait hangs over a fireplace. Alfred left the art supplies and the easel in there. He decides to paint a picture of her, of Ace because he did not want to forget, but knowing him, he would not forget her even without the painting, though it is not for him, it is for her. As he paints, Diana watches intently from behind him, giving some measure of tranquility to his brush strokes, and he does not allow himself to rest until it is done. As it dries, he sleeps on the couch, and Diana looks into the eyes that Bruce had given to the painting of the girl.

She looks back towards him sleeping noticing there is just some peace for him to sleep through this early morning or so she would hope because his nights are always long ones. There is another room in the manor full of pictures down through the years, but of course Bruce rarely passes through except Alfred knows he has been in there. The tell tale signs that decades as a butler we would recognize well. He comes into the room where Bruce is still asleep and Diana naps nearby. Somehow he knows where the painting belongs already, but he'll tell Master Bruce after moving it.

"Somebody moved the painting?" asks Bruce later.

"I put where all those pictures are, you know the place," answers Alfred.

He knows what his butler means and of course Diana wants to see this room too so they go there.


	10. Before Now

He could not let them die so as the discharge ejects from the chest of that robotic weapon, he flies straight at it. All he can feel in that split second as molecules are torn apart is body burning completely then nothing. The machine's operator sadistically giggles triumphantly as a shred cloth floats to the ground. The onlookers are frozen in step, nobody speaks, no one moves, until she flies in toppling the machine and grabbing its operator by the throat ready to kill him for the apparent demise of Superman. However the speedster intervenes and notes the tears streaming down her face mixing with the altered weather patterns' moisture.

The news networks worldwide report the death of Superman, but of course with a scrap of the cape between his fingers, Batman does not believe as all that Toyman's weapon had shot was just gone. No residue, no debris, nothing left except burn holes of what used to be there, but many believe the Man of Steel, the Man of Tomorrow is gone. A funeral is arranged with a mass gathering both inside and outside the chosen cathedral in Metropolis. Batman still labors over the camera footage and explains his deduction to Alfred, but of course the kindly butler asks that he at least consider an appearance.

Alfred takes Tim ahead hoping that Batman would turn up at least for the League's sake if no one else. Lois sits with the Daily Planet news gang, Kara is with the Kents, GL comes with the Lantern Corps including Katma Tui and Kyle Rayner. Flash, Hawkgirl, and Wonder Woman are together near the front of the crowd. J'onn J'onzz gives the eulogy though of course Luthor also makes an appearance much to Lois' frustration at first, but she is too upset to fight him. Later the League carries the coffin as palm bearers to the Superman Memorial Park and along the way the people of Metropolis pay their silent respects.

On the rooftops in the dark Batman follows occasionally allowing him to be seen especially once by Wonder Woman, by Diana who happens to see him up there. She manages a slight smile before turning back towards where the coffin is to be buried. Hours later after everyone disperses, Batman descends to pay a visit. He is the last holdout because he refuses to believe that Superman, that Clark Kent is dead though in the midst of this villains are on the attack again knowing there's no Superman now to stop them.

Batman engages them alone at first though he gets back up from the League and Lobo though of course after finally working down nearly all the super-criminals, he realizes someone is missing, but that realization comes a split second too late at least this time around. Deadshot is just someone with a gun that got lucky. They were now down to five in less than a few days. The others would stay together because separating at a time like this would not do much good yet without the Man of Tomorrow or the Caped Crusader things eventually worsen as Gotham descends into chaos even with Batgirl stepping up in Gotham and Supergirl taking over in Metropolis.

Vandal Savage's return with a super weapon a few years later triggers an apocalyptic chain reaction, which drastically changes the entire solar system. The five even with the help of Supergirl and Batgirl are unable to defeat him. As the others are fallen dead or dying, Green Lantern, John Stewart makes his last stand with what little juice is left in his ring though to no avail so as he falls to the ground, the green glow leaves his eyes just as it had during that drawn tank fire in the past. Savage would remember this day with clarity for thousands of years and thanks to his immortality would live to see the Watchtower fall out of orbit then less than a century after that a signal begins transmitting from somewhere on what used to be part of the continental United States.

"So it turns out you didn't die that day… perhaps now I can undo what was…only question is how."


	11. Going Home

They all died starting with Batman, but again is the universe course correcting, adapting to block any attempts to change what will happen, of course the others could die, even he could die if the circumstances were what it took to kill him. It felt almost like dying to have yourself torn apart then put back together thousands of years into the future. Whatever could have gone without him there, did go wrong, and Batman died less than a few blocks where they buried his empty coffin. He had to find a way back and he could not sleep, no matter how nice it felt to have a bed instead of sleeping in the car or the ground as he had done for all the time until he found the crash site of the Watchtower.

A noise got his attention so he goes exploring only to find an all too familiar chamber along the way. The device is virtually identical to the one that he and the others used to go back to World War Two to stop Savage from conquering the world through America. The version of Batman in that alternate dystopian future was a real eye opener of course he saw a few others who did look familiar in Batman's underground movement including Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, even Tim Drake. Barbara had become close friends with Kara after Livewire escaped to team up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. He met Tim after Roxy Rocket's joyride through Metropolis and foils another attempt by Brainiac to rebuild himself.

The timeline is switches back more or less, so Batman's parents went back from being killed by soldiers, to being shot by the mugger. Events still occurred with variations yet it felt like proof enough as Savage suggests going after his power source to bring it online. It is close call, but the device emits enough yellow solar radiation to give Superman some of his powers back. The power device is hooked up to the time machine and so the two part ways knowing that Superman stopping what causes this future would possibly delay Savage's epiphany and reform, but saving the League, saving the world felt more important at least right now.

The shot fires again as it did before yet instead there is a muffled boom as the sizable shot is caught by a man in a tattered costume. As if on reflex Batman tosses a batarang to short out Deadshot's wrist mounted gun. Each of them looks in the direction of the smoke and as it dissipates there stands Superman albeit in a ruined costume. However that did not matter, all that matters is he is back, but now they must intercept the theft that the future Savage told Superman about then afterwards he had some visits to pay as the mixed reactions to his return.

The future twitches back to what it would be if Superman is still alive in the present and the future Savage as he was in the alternate future is gone. As he lands on the front porch, he overhears his parents and Kara thumbing through old photo albums so he knocks at the door though at first nobody comes, but then Pa comes and opens to see him there out of costume. The older Kent grips his arm, old age, heart condition, but he is alright, he pushes out the door then grabs his adopted son while shouting for Martha to come outside. She rushes out thinking something is wrong, but nothing is wrong, their son is home, Clark is alive.

"Clark," murmurs Ma.

"It is me Ma, sorry for the scare, but that shot, it sent me into the future, I'm back now."

"We all believed it, it was kind of hard not to with that footage of you vanishing like snap."

"Anyone told Lois yet?" asks Kara.

"She is next on my list, but I'll go as Superman."

"One of these days you'll have to tell her unless she is being tight lipped as you are except instead of you not telling her, she somehow already knows."

"One of these days, maybe tomorrow, maybe someday I'll spill the beans."

"Being back alive and counts for more, wouldn't want overwhelm her yet hmm."

He spends the night on the farm before flying back to Metropolis to where he sees Lois at the memorial park. He zips in picking her up straight away then soars skyward as she screams in panic before looking at him. At first she mumbles is this a dream or are you really here though of course he answers its real Lois, the beam sent me to the future, but I am back now. She smacks him to be sure then she kisses him intensely. He had never been so happy to see her lavender shaded eyes so they spend the afternoon above the clouds before descending back to the roof of the Daily Planet.

"One of these days, who you are out of costume will have be around more."

"Maybe I already am, I am not dancing around when to tell you."

"You may have more powers than most of your Justice League buddies."

"Nothing quite compares to an intuitive mind and gut instincts especially if they belong to Lois Lane."

"You better believe it flyboy, the last time I felt this torn up was when I thought Clark died."

"I remember, lucky break especially with Lana's help."

She whispers something into his ear, he only smiles sheepishly before setting her down, and in a blur he is gone yet as she heads back downstairs to the offices, Clark is back at his computer though takes a moment to notice her return. She only thinks to herself eventually one could only hope for more days or nights where it could just be us and not the rest of the world in peril at the same time too.

_I think I got you figured out Superman or should I say…_


	12. The Answer

He would not let it happen, he had to prevent it, he would substitute the icon for himself, it was the only way, but he does not know the whole story, not even the target knows the whole story. The League's reputation would survive this act if only he had succeed he thought, but now it would fail though his only lasting disappointment is failing to stop Luthor's scheme to tick off Superman. The whole presidential angle was a scam solely made to push his super powered enemy over the edge and it seems to be working if Lexor City was any proof of that notion. However Huntress… Helena… would not take his disappearance lightly… she had after all seen him in a disheveled state before he went after Luthor.

They would torture for what he knew, but he channels babbling about true things that have nothing or seemingly nothing to do with what he stole from a Cadmus corporate front. He did however recently prove that were 32, not 31 flavors, but that was usually something to laugh at for many. Back to the moment, he would only hope that his disappearance would not trigger the event he is aiming to prevent, but of course no one appears to have tried to stop Superman in the Lords reality. It was not like he was the only one trying to stop Armageddon, but it sure felt like he was the only one sometimes. He did not have an ego to feed, just a world that often fails to notice how close it is to a day straight from hell and the only reason why they got out of other days from hell in past was someone or many someone-s were there to stop it at exactly the 'right' moment.

It might be luck, it might be coincidence, it could be anything, but he knew Luthor was the epicenter of the current dystopian bender. He was sprung thanks to Helena and Superman, but still he had a piece of mind to give to the icon. Of course he would insist he could do it without becoming like his other, but Question, Vic was not ready to believe him or willing to as he posits no matter what reality or universe, it is still relative. However after hearing about what went down in the battle with the merged Luthor and Brainiac, Vic was actually glad to be wrong for once though it might have something to do with the way Helena is looking at his bruised face.

The physical wear and tear from the interrogation is not completely gone and of course the Cadmus clone of Supergirl led the charge against the Watchtower. He did his part then when banging up the Ultimen army of clones with a bedpan. He guarded his out of mask identity so he rarely allows anyone to see what one might call the actual face. He would never actually admit it, but he owes Helena his life for a change. He so ready to die, so ready to give, found a reason to stay alive when those dark eyes look at him with a range of emotions from annoyance to attraction.

So what really changed his mind by the time another Armageddon is averted, the question is not really there, but there is an answer when her lips connect with his, he might have prevented her from taking a life yet her feelings for him drove her to save his. If that was not the love he did not wish to know any other answer, because the way she is right now, is the only answer that matters to him. The only thing that counts for him deep down aside from the affections of Helena, is never compromising even if the world was on the verge of annihilation. Otherwise what was he trying to save?

That is the question… seldom put to the test and upheld when the world is falling apart.

* * *

A/N: this tangent while similar to a prior one featuring Question and Huntress, its actually slightly more towards Question than Huntress. The prompt came from seeing Watchmen, the mannerisms, the voice, it made me think Question though of course there's often a certain level of similarity between characters from time to time. One line in particular from Rorschach about not compromising even in the face of Armageddon. The similarities end at some point, one exists in a near similar world to our own as it could have been if things went really wrong and the other exists in a world where costumed heroics aren't quite well received as they once thought to have been.


	13. In A Day

**The canister opens, it is too fast even for him, then everything goes black as if falling asleep, but not really. He stretches suddenly unfamiliar with his surroundings and hears someone else breathing nearby.  
**

_"This is your wake up alarm. Good morning Kal-El and happy birthday."_

_"Thanks Brainiac… Windows, please,"_ he asks.

The sounds of birds chirping is audible, the billowing wheat stalks, the almost seamless mesh of metal buildings and farm lands, it made a pleasant home away from the city, but of course there was her job, the one that usually brought her home late from time to time. Her grumbling turns his attention to her as she mumbles something.

_"Please don't tell me its morning already."_

_"That's what you get for partying all night."_

As he pulls back the pillow, her dark red hair flows freely yet the eyes for a moment seem wrong with that hair or physique, but something shifts, no, this is her look, this is his wife, the journalist. She smirks a little before answering him.

_"I was working."_

_"Come on honey you call the work? Covering the opening of the Argo City Museum of Modern Art? Hobnobbing with all the movers and shakers?"_

_"A bunch of bores."_

His wife is always exceptional at reading people even him.

" _You could have come you know?"_

_"Next time."_

He smiles at her though she realizes he is not that serious about such things.

_"Oh, please. I couldn't get you off this farm unless I exploded a quantum bomb under your-"_

The ground starts to rumble or he thinks it does yet before he can ask if she felt anything she pins partially then implores her 'handsome' husband to come closer though before they can kiss, the robot helper otherwise known as Brainiac interrupts what could be a 'perfect' birthday smooch. Brainiac reminds that Kal-El and Van-El are expected at Jor-El's lab in just over two hours as well as the vac-40 needing inspection. In a silly gesture, she tosses the pillow knowing full well the robot could avoid it. A thought occurs to him first Loana does not feel right, then this off feeling about Van, who is Van, wait Van is our son, named in part after mom's father.

* * *

There is a blur of words he can barely make out as suddenly he is cooking omelets. He smells something else, something probably left nearby by Krypto, Van's dog.

_But where did this dog come from?_

Right he thinks Van had been asking for it for a long time. He did not agree to get a dog for Van until after he could show consistent responsibility.

_"Van, your breakfast is getting cold!"_

_"I'm coming!"_

As he moves away from the stove, he almost slips on something the dog left behind.

_"Looks like the dog left you a present. Brainiac, could you clean up that?"_

_"No Brainiac. Van was supposed to walk the dog. It is his job to clean it up."_

His expression is one of parental annoyance, you know the kind where the kid knows he or she is in trouble, but still acts kind of guilty though acknowledges responsibility by doing whatever the parent asks in the first place. As Van cleans up after the dog, the dog whimpers, and of course Kal-El's expression cracks, he can't stay angry at the boy for long. As he goes back towards cooking breakfast, Van starts talking about a party, and he figures the boy must be talking about today given the obviousness of the date.

_"I told you I didn't want a surprise party."_

_"And you are not getting one."_

Words about traffic jam on the Kandor Skyway and something about Gold Volcano. As Van leaves the room, Kal-El repeats his desire to not have a surprise party to Loana.

_"Come on it is just a small one."_

Something clicks wrong again.

For a moment he sees a billboard that says Welcome to Small… but as like the others it fades out as her lips connect with his before another missing shift. Her lips felt warm, familiar, and loving... as they should.

The drive took almost the whole two hours to reach the private garage near the walkway to his father's lab. The Science Committee had eventually gotten over his doomsday predication and let him resume work except he was relegated to seismology as opposed to his previous global planetary studies. His father looks visibly aged from his last memory of him because in one instance he is seeing what appears to be a holo-projection of a much younger Jor-El and a young Lara telling him something, but he cannot seem to recall yet then it shifts again to something else.

Van jumps right into his grandfather's arms as they continue into the lab. The boy is overly fascinated with all the specimens including this strange dark looking plant floating in one of the water tanks. He had already missed an opportunity to ask about the shake he felt but everyone else seems to just miss it like what happen with Loana this morning. The sounds were getting more distinct. It sounds like someone shouting at him, but he saw no one shouting.

He and Jor-El briefly talk about the recent tremors then he hears someone else instead of Jor-El, he hears Pa Kent, but who is that, then the other voice is back, he is telling him good, fight it. It flashes up to the roof of Jor-El's lab. Now he must say goodbye to Krypton a second time, to say goodbye to a son, to a wife, to a world he might never see, and he opens his eyes full of tears while Krypton implodes around them.

As real as it all seems, it is merely his realized dreams brought to fulfillment in his imaginary version of life on Krypton, yet deep down take away the costume, take away the office suit, take away the villains, and there you find the unrealized him.

* * *

The son, the father, the husband… all the roles that he almost fears might never be his despite how close he believes he is to his adopted Earth parents or how deep his love for Lois seems in tandem with the fact that the fantasy woman looks like a mesh of Lois and Lana. The most imaginary of the fantasy is the son, truly even for someone that may seem immortal, there is still much unknown and unspoken. He is not the man who has everything or lost everything, only the man who has yet to become what he believes he needs in life besides being the heroic icon face of Justice League.

* * *

As he awakens a final time inside the Fortress, Batman is ensnared by the plant, but all he wants in the moment is to take down Mongul. His timing is impeccable considering that Diana is taking a serious beating from Mongul. She could hold against him, but not indefinitely so as Superman pile drives him into another area of the Fortress. She drags herself across the cold frozen floor towards the break in the wall that leads back to where Bruce is with the plant latched on to him.

**"Happy birthday Kryptonian… I give you oblivion!"** declares Mongul.

**"Burn!"** he answers as his eyes light up.

He ignites the upper chest area of Mongul's attire and the former gamester howls in pain. He smashes him again through the floor except as he looks up to see the crystalline statues of his birth parents, he stops, and of course Mongul exploits the pause. At least until hearing Diana's voice saying something like I think this belongs to you. After wards, they give him his gifts, and as he holds the Krypton flower he looks towards the statues.

_"I promise I'll never forget."_

He had been waiting long enough, he had tell someone this, but not Bruce or Diana. The real decision is tell Lois or Lana, but then again could he risk telling both about this telepathic plant induced fantasy. If he is to find a life where this fantasy becomes reality, he would have to do something, but for now it seems the Fortress needs repairs. As for Bruce, he looks more shook up than usual even in the company of Diana though if either of their expressions is any indication the plant had latched on to Batman, to Bruce after he broke out his fantasy.

He could almost guess Bruce's fantasy, but then again he might be wrong and it would be wrong to pry so they part ways after the gifts are given as well as working out what to do with Mongul. As for now, at least it is over from one standpoint, but of course, deep down it is very likely that many people ponder what alternate lives they could have led, even someone like him.

As much as he might have dared to accuse Bruce of 'toying' when it comes to Diana, he was in his own way hesitant with Lois even when they have had been more intimate since his three brushes with what had been like dying. She took the first leap in kissing him after that visit to an alternate dimension where the her in that dimension died, which sparked the other him into taking a stronger stance in his behavior towards crime among other things in that Metropolis.

He had also had a real eye opener not just from that, yet also from his Darkseid encounters, getting time jumped into the distant future, in meeting that uninhibited Justice Lord version of him.

* * *

In a day, any day, he was the one saving lives, but rarely was it that someone had to save him, and quite frequently it was her whether it was from Kryptonite, a Parademon, or his own behavior. It was his life, but of course she had proven she cares deeply about Clark, about Superman, but had she already worked out the two were the same. It must have occurred to her long before now, but of course he would go to her after cleaning up here. He eventually returns to Metropolis, lands on his apartment balcony. He heads inside to switch into regular clothes, and as he walks to the door, he realizes he forgot his glasses.

He opens the door, he can see her clear as day, so beautiful with those lavender eyes and dark hair, yet she coyly says...

"You forgot something again didn't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Eyeglasses Clark… I think enjoy seeing your eyes more without them."

She plants a kiss right on his lips in full and wraps her arms around him before closing the door behind him.

"So you knew?"

"It wasn't hard not to notice, I was upset, I mean the way you came back after that car bomb was the first real tip off, but eventually I decided you would tell me when you were ready. I started to realize I had feelings for both of you, then I said to myself, its the same guy Lane, but Superman is your public face, the private is Mr. Kent, Daily Planet City Desk... the personal is you... is Clark."

"I need to tell you more about this experience I had at the Fortress... Mongul's 'gift' made me see a life I infrequently and very vaguely dream of... a life where I'm just a man, a husband, a father, anything but this costume or that job..."

"Well for right now, I'll take the man that loves me."

"This time... you save me."

He kisses her back.

* * *

A/N 1: Based on the events seen during **JLU: For the Man Who Has Everything. **Recently I actually read the comics story that this episode was based on. Notable differences throughout, but the core idea remains the same. What would Clark or rather Kal-El's life be like on a Krypton that never exploded?

A/N 2: The final scene between Kal-El and Van-El is virtually the same between the comic and the episode yet much of the rest is not given continuity differences.

A/N 3: The episode reveals two desires. The first being where Clark could be Kal-El without being Superman while the second shows for a moment what could have happen if Thomas Wayne fought back in Crime Alley instead of being shot by the mugger.


	14. Legends Never Die

_"The date is right…"_

The two of them notice the name of the local paper and the fact that this place looks an awful like a 1950s era town is a little unnerving. There is also of course the ice cream truck that never stops too. The initial tension between them and the Justice Guild ends when Flash saves Ray from falling pieces of a building. However J'onn for one reason or another cannot seem to tap his psychic powers because all he gets are flashes of a world destroyed by a nuclear holocaust. There was also the eventual stacking list of coincidences that not even John could dismiss after Hawkgirl shows him the graves.

He still does not believe entirely so they go in search of the library, which is full of blank books and the electricity is non-existent in the building for a city that seems so lively. The basement doorway is blocked off by bricks which after everything else seems hardly surprising so as he and Hawkgirl finally get underground they find a ruined tunnel car and plenty of old papers. Papers dating back to the same date that comic book series Justice Guild of America stop running off the presses.

The pair returns to the Justice Guild headquarters to confront the Guild with this information and of course they are disbelieving yet before the conversation would go any further, a call comes through about a robot attacking the area. At this stage J'onn finally realizes who is simulating this entire thing right down to this very building and its inhabitants. Somehow during the last war, the fallout had mutated the boy that used to be Ray Thompson and after wards he used his powers to maintain the illusion of a pre-apocalyptic world that still had his childhood heroes.

However Ray is not content to let them 'take' away his 'world', but of course as he begins to endanger the four from the League, the Guild turns on him. His psychic creations were made _too well_ and in the end Ray dies with them as well as the illusion of Seaboard City disappearing to reveal the ruins left over from the war. It is then the survivors that were used to populate the illusion thank them for ending the cycle.

They find Tom Turbine's inter-dimensional gate and use it to return home yet as he is leaving all John can think is _they were already dead yet their memory might as well died with Ray_. After relating the experience to the others back at the Watchtower, John breaks off to be on his own until Hawkgirl interrupts his moody contemplation.

She tells him that they died for them, which made them real enough to her. His somber mood lightens a little and she leans against him as they stare out into space. Body, mind, and spirit were different names for different drives that made heroes out of the unlikeliest of people except when it comes to it the essence of the story is this is not all the we are, call it faith or purpose. Call it whatever you will, but there comes a time when boys and girls become men and women yet in doing so the past goes to the backseat, to the photo albums, to the cabinets, and more. One day everyone reaches the moment where all the fictions must be left on the shelves and reality takes flight with the ideals of past in mind with the present at hand as he looks to the ring.

They honored him, her, Flash, and even J'onn by turning on their reanimator to stop him from harming them, so would their second demise been any more meaningful then the first and so called more real deaths. The entities that thought of themselves as Green Guardsman, Catman, The Streak, Black Siren, and Tom Turbine made their ethereal last stand against what had become their child idolizer turned fallout illusionist. They might all be dead in body, but they were by no means dead in mind and whether he would believe it or not, part of what he had become is their legacy even if they were projected into his life by some comic book creators' imagination channeling that reality as J'onn put it to Tom.

He again looks at his ring before asking Hawkgirl to have dinner with him so of course maybe he needed a sharp mental whack from her voice, but she did have a point. She seem to understand the symbolic value to both John's childhood hero worship of them and to what their second disappearance seem to affect in his thoughts. However again it is time for dinner at a Chinese restaurant near his apartment.

* * *

A/N: Set during and after JL episode Legends, a crossover into a reality that was the home of the Justice Guild of America.


End file.
